


Passing Through

by Marzos



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Ghost!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-20 08:09:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4780085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marzos/pseuds/Marzos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Danny, you sound really weird right now. Is the ghost gone or not?" </p><p>Danny sighed. Laura was going to find out eventually. "Gone. Definitely gone." </p><p>"How'd you do it, then?" </p><p>Danny opened her mouth, then closed it. She did it again. </p><p>"Danny, come on." </p><p>"...I think I asked her out on a date?" </p><p>(An Ell/Danny fic, featuring ghost!Ell)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to the Ellanny Squad. Thank you for your headcanons guys!

Like a lot of weird things to happen to Danny in the past few months, it began with a text from Laura.

_Laura: Being haunted by ghost. Come quickly, bring ???? (what do you use to get rid of ghosts anyway?)_

And, like every other time, Danny grabbed the appropriate gear and off she went.

“Okay, who did Carmilla piss off before they died?” Danny asked as soon as she opened the door to the dorm room. Carmilla lowered a book from her face.

“Who haven’t I pissed off?” Carmilla drawled. “Nice to see you too, Xena.”

 _“Hey,_ Danny, thanks for coming,” Laura said, smiling nervously. “Come in, I guess?”

Danny sat down on Laura’s bed, her backpack laid in front of her legs. “So. Ghost problem? You sure it’s ghosts?”  

“Okay, we’ve been having really weird...you know...drafts. Like randomly the room will drop, like, ten degrees. Things will fall off the shelves without us touching them. And, you know, lots of weird things like that. Books hit Carmilla on the head a lot.”

Danny tried not to laugh at that. “...Yeah, that sounds like ghosts. How long has it been going on?”

“Like, a couple of weeks?”

Danny nodded. “If you give me, like, an hour I’ll handle it. Ghosts are no problem--that’s the first thing you learn at Summer Society orientation.”

“Oh my God, Danny, _thank you.”_ Laura turned toward Carmilla. “Carm, thank Danny.”

“...Thank you for kicking me out of my dorm room,” Carmilla muttered.

_“Carm.”_

“Fine. Thanks, Xena.” Carmilla slammed the book shut, tucking it under her arm. Laura linked arms with the vampire and walked out. Danny cracked her knuckles. It was ghost busting time.

There were three kinds of ghosts; two of them were fairly common, one less so. The first kind of the ‘unfinished business’ ghost. They were the easiest or the hardest to get rid of, depending on what that business _was,_ but generally harmless. Second was the ‘suddenly, brutally killed’ ghosts. A lot of times they didn’t even _know_ they were dead until someone told them--and as unpleasant breaking the news is, they went away on their own after that.

This ghost was almost definitely one of them; Danny reached into her backpack. It had been a long time since she had to deal with ghosts. It wasn’t that Silas didn’t have ghosts--they were infested, actually--but they were more into wandering the campus than terrorizing students. Not to mention, ghost-hunting was a boring job the Summers usually gave to the freshmen.

She pulled out a pack of batteries, ripping it open and putting them in a little pile on the floor. The direct approach was worth a shot before Danny had to break out the Latin chanting.

“My name is Danny Lawrence,” she said, “I am friends with Laura and Carmilla. If you’re in here, can you absorb the energy from these batteries so I can see who I’m talking to?”

Danny waited. After about a minute she was starting to think that, after the anglerfish God and everything, Laura might be a little paranoid…

She felt a chill and shivered. Danny realized that the batteries had started rolling like someone had touched them. Slowly, an image of someone started to appear in the middle of the room.

The ghost had a clear outline but the features were fuzzy, flickering in and out like bad radio reception. It was like looking at a hologram. Danny could make out a round face, thick, curly hair and large eyes, the color of which Danny couldn’t quite make out.

“...I did not know I could do that,” the ghost said, looking down at her now visible hands.

“Do you know you’re a ghost?” Danny asked gently. The ghost tilted her head to the side.

“Of course I know I’m a ghost,” she said.

Okay. So this was unfinished business. Unsurprising. “What’s your name?”

The form of the girl seemed to straighten a little. “I am Eleanor Rheinhardt, daughter of the Baron Thadeus Reinhardt…” but now she slumped, “Although that doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?”

Danny frowned. “Eleanor, huh?”

“My friends called me Ell.”

Wait. _Ell._

 _“You_ can call me Ell if you’d like,” she continued, “You seem nice. I have been trying to talk to Carmilla since I...I do not even know. I sort of _appeared_ a few days ago?” Ell tried to flop onto the bed on the opposite end of the room, giving a little squeak of surprise when she fell through it, going through the floor. Danny stood up.

“Ell--”

Danny stumbled back in surprise when Ell’s head popped up through the bed again. “Sorry. I suppose I’m still not solid enough for that?”

She covered her mouth to keep from laughing at Ell. “...Yeah. It would take a lot more batteries for that.”

Ell ended up sort of floating right above the bed. “Maybe some day. I miss my bed. Or just sleeping? Both.”

Danny nodded. She was honestly a little too shocked to say much. Ell was the most articulate ghost she’d ever dealt with. Most were either silent or did nothing but whine about revenge.

“You’re the rarest kind of ghost,” Danny said, “that appears when the soul is separated from the body before the body is killed. The bad news is, you’re kind of stuck--”

“Do you read books?” Ell asked suddenly. Danny blinked. Apparently Ell was also a little scatterbrained too?

“Um...yes? Why?”

“I read many books when I was alive,” Ell said, “I miss reading, too. Do people today still read Pride and Prejudice? It was one of my favorites.”

Danny’s eyes widened. “Really?” She sat back down on Laura’s bed. It was not often you could have intelligent conversations about literature with a ghost. “What was your favorite part?”

* * *

 

They met again that night to watch The Lizzie Bennett Diaries at the Summer Society Lodge. Danny didn’t tell Laura and Carmilla about it--as far as they were concerned, Danny got rid of some random ghost.

“...I find this adaptation interesting,” Ell said to Danny while they sat next to each other on her bed, “When is Darcy going to show up?”

“They barely show Darcy. It’s a very woman-driven show.”

Ell smiled. “We get to do a lot more now, huh?”

“Yeah. Women can even vote.”

Ell’s smile grew a little wider. Her form was a little more concrete now. Danny could make out that her hair was blonde, her eyes deep blue.

They talked about Ell’s life in the 1800s. Danny continued to tell Ell about everything that changed since she was alive. They were so engrossed in conversation that by the time Darcy had finally shown up, neither of them were paying attention.

“Wait, Ell, the show ended. Youtube was autoplaying and we missed a ton of it.”

“It’s okay. I like talking to you--I should probably go anyway.”

“Go?” Danny frowned. “Ell, why? I’m having fun.”

Ell held up her hand, which Danny almost couldn’t see now. “I don’t have much more energy left.”  

“Oh.” Danny had a sudden idea. “Wait! Use my laptop.”

“Your laptop?”

“It’s plugged in, anyway. It’s not like you’ll break it if it runs out of power. Plus...I don’t know. I’d just really like to be able to see you better?”

Hesitantly, Ell looked at the laptop, extending her hand over it. There was no noise, but Danny could see the little icon that showed battery life dropping until it said zero. The screen went black, and Danny looked at Ell, her form so solid that she felt like she could touch her.

A thought wormed its way into Danny’s head. Could she? Danny reached forward and grabbed Ell’s hand. Even now her body was still translucent. She could see the blanket clearly through the hand. It felt cold and strange, like holding onto fog. But it was Ell’s hand. Ell looked like she was blushing and in shock.

“Sorry,” Danny said, smiling sheepishly, “I was just curious, I didn’t mean to--”

Ell’s grip tightened, Danny stopped, and Ell leaned in to capture Danny’s lips in a kiss.

It also felt strange, but Danny’s heart raced regardless.

“I’m the one who should be sorry,” Ell said softly.

“Ell, I…” Danny leaned in again, but their lips didn’t brush together.

“It takes so much energy for me to do that, Danny.” Ell said, sighing. “I really should go. Is it odd that a ghost can be exhausted?”

“No. Goodnight, Ell.” Ell looked back at Danny as she got up from her bed.

“But I will see you again, right?”

“Yes,” was Danny’s immediate reply.

* * *

 

She went to the school store that morning, slammed her credit card down on the counter, and told the cashier:

“Give me all the batteries you have.”

“We could give you some rechargeable ones--”

“No. _Batteries._ All of them.”

She stuffed them in the pockets of her jeans. Her denim jacket. The pockets of her varsity jacket that Danny put on _over_ her denim jacket. The point was, Danny wanted to make sure that when she was around Ell, she could see her.

“Danny!”

She was startled by Laura waving, walking over to Danny. “Hey, thanks again for getting rid of that ghost. It is so nice not to feel like we’re being watched.”

“Yeah. Glad to help.”

“How did you get rid of it anyway? Did you find out why it was haunting our room?”

“Well, you know,” Danny kept walking forward with large strides, Laura struggling a little to keep up, “Just did your typical ghost busting stuff. No idea, I didn’t ask.”

Laura grabbed Danny’s arm. “Danny, can you slow down a little?” Danny did. Laura frowned. “Danny, you sound really weird right now. Is the ghost gone or not?”

Danny sighed. Laura was going to find out eventually. “Gone. Definitely gone.”

“How’d you do it, then?”

Danny opened her mouth, then closed it. She did it again.

“Danny, come on.”

“...I think I asked her out on a date?”

“YOU WENT ON A DATE WITH A _GHOST?”_

“You’re being kind of judgemental about dating supernatural creatures, Laura.”

“I don’t have a problem with the supernatural! I have a problem with the ‘not on the corporeal plain’ part.”

“I’ve taken care of that problem,” Danny said, patting her battery laden pockets, “Well, sort of.”

“How did you--IN THE NAME OF ROWENA RAVENCLAW!”

Laura clutched her chest as Ell appeared next to Danny. “I am sorry, Danny, did I startle your friend?”

“A little, yeah,” Danny said. She smiled nervously, sweeping an arm out. “Laura, meet Ell. Ell, meet my friend Laura. Who you’ve probably seen.”

Laura’s eyes widened. _“Ell?”_

“And you are the girl that is with Carmilla, now?”

“Um...uh...yes. I am.” Laura eyed her suspiciously. “And you’re the ghost that was haunting us.”

“I am truly sorry about that,” Ell answered, running a hand through her hair, “It was rather petty of me. Not that I have any sympathy for Carmilla. But you have not done anything to me.” She held out a hand. Laura slowly extended hers. They couldn’t touch, but they simulated a handshake.

“Thank you?”

“Any friend of Danny’s is a friend of mine.”

“Do you have class now, Laura?” Danny asked.

“Journalism. It’s nice to meet you too, Ell, and Danny seems to like you, so...I mean...have fun, guys?”

“We will!” Ell said, looking back and forth between the two of them. Laura walked away, looking very, very confused.

“Your friend doesn’t seem to like me,” Ell said, floating alongside Danny.

“No. It’s just the ex-girlfriend thing making it kind of awkward. And, you know, us…”

“What about us?”

Danny stopped again, staring at Ell in the middle of the quad. “I don’t...I mean, I’m not sure. I like you, though. Talking to you has been great. How do you feel about me?”

Ell didn’t answer for a moment. She held Danny’s hand--well, mimicked holding her hand. “I think I would like to do whatever makes you happy?”

Her voice was clear and reminded Danny of bells. She really, really wished she could have stuffed more triple-A batteries in her pockets. She smiled, and gestured with her head. “Come on.”

* * *

 

“Carmilla, you are going to have to see her eventually.”

The vampire glared at Laura, hiding her face with a book. “I have been through so much shit the past few months, Laura.  But Ell? The answer is no.”

“I promised Danny we would go out with her and Ell tonight, though.”

“She has some weird... _thing_...with a ghost for a month and suddenly you’re into feeding her delusions that this could ever be a real relationship?”

“I’m not pretending to understand what they’re doing,” Laura answered, sitting next to Carmilla, “But Danny is our--”

“Correction, your.”

 _“My_ friend. And you love me, so you want to get along with my friend and her girlfriend. Or ghost friend? Whichever. Plus, Ell is cool. I’ve talked to her a few times.”

“This might be the most uncomfortable situation you have ever put me in, Laura.”

Laura crossed her arms. “I hate to pull this card, but my sister-in-law literally tried to kill me and all my friends several times.”

Carmilla paused, groaned, and put the book down. “Ell is not your sister, but fine. I get your point.” She got off the bed. “Let’s get this angst-fest over with.”

Laura opened the door, Danny standing outside, Ell floating next to her. Carmilla shoved her hands in her pockets.

“...Ell.”

“Carmilla.”

“I know you’re going to tell me about how much you hate me, so let’s get that out of the way?”

Laura slowly slid out of the room to stand next to Danny. The two of them took a step back to give Ell and Carmilla room.

Ell stared at Carmilla for a few moments before sighing. “I don’t hate you.”

Carmilla looked shocked for a moment before regaining her composure. “Wait, what? I literally am responsible for feeding you to a fish monster and you’re not angry?”

“Oh, no. I am very angry,” Ell corrected, “But I don’t hate you. I also don’t _like_ you. It’s more that your happiness means literally nothing to me. Besides,” Ell looked at Danny with a small smile, “If not for you, I would not be here now. And that has certain benefits.”

Carmilla wanted to vomit from the sappy look those two were giving each other. She cleared her throat. “Alright. Fine. Let’s go double-date or whatever the fuck Laura and Danny want us to do.”

Ell smiled, floating next to Danny as the four of them walked out and started walking the grounds. Laura and Ell started talking, which kind of (definitely) made Carmilla very, very uncomfortable.

“So, does Carmilla still eat all of the chocolate and stay up until three in the morning?” Ell asked.

“Oh my God, _yes._ She’s been doing that for a century?” Laura answered teasingly, looking at Carmilla out of the corner of her eye.

“Yes. Except she used to lock her door. She sounds even worse now, how do you put up with her?”

“I didn’t think you would care about chocolate,” Carmilla interrupted, “Since you seem like you’re more into _gingersnaps.”_

Danny blushed. Ell only looked confused, looking at her. “I never ate gingersnaps? Do they taste good?”

“Er...well--”

“Yeah, Danny,” Carmilla continued, ignoring Laura’s disapproving look, “Do they? I’m sure you wish Ell could have a taste--”

“Ooookay,” Laura said, pushing Carmilla’s arm, “That’s enough. We’re all here to take a walk and be friends, not to embarrass Danny.”

“But I’m fair game?”

“Truce, then.”

“But I still don’t understand--”

“Really not important, Ell,” Danny said, putting an arm around her. Or she would, if Ell was able to be touched.

“Truce,” Carmilla agreed, putting an arm around Laura, then pulling her in for a quick kiss. Ell looked away from them with a slight frown.

“Something wrong, Ell?” Danny asked.

“I--I don’t know.”

The longer they were walking with Laura and Danny, the worse Ell was starting to look. Danny withdrew her arm. “Hey, Ell, we can go if you want.”

“Would they--”

“We’re fine if you both want to go,” Carmilla answered quickly. Laura was about to argue until she saw the look on Danny’s face.

“Uh, yeah. I have a paper to write due next week anyway. Have fun, guys?”

“See you both.” Danny answered. Carmilla and Laura left, Laura throwing little concerned glances back. Danny looked at Ell again.

“Ell, what’s wrong?” Danny asked again. She still looked upset. If anything she looked more upset.

“I don’t like double dating. I don’t like seeing everything we can’t do.”

_Oh._

Danny rubbed the back of her neck. “I could try finding stronger batteries--”

“You know that’s not really a solution. I can’t keep myself solid for more than a minute.,” Ell started to flicker with agitation and nervousness. “It--I mean--Danny, I _love_ you.”

Danny stared at Ell in shock. “Ell, we’ve--we haven’t been doing this for that long--”

“What do you want me to do? I cannot really kiss you. I cannot hold your hand. Hug you. Not in a way that feels real. People show their love in so many ways before they say it out loud…” Ell shook her head. “If I can’t show it without words, why does it not make sense to say it?”

Danny didn’t know what to say. At a loss for words, she sucked in a breath, putting her hands behind her head. “You know I can’t say that too, right? I want to, but...I can’t lie to you. Not with this.”

Ell smiled softly. “But it does not scare you away?”

“No.”

    “Then saying that went better than I thought it would, anyway.”

Danny wanted to smile. Or cry. Or both. She had never felt so torn. What Ell had said was right; they could never be normal. But Ell was the only person Danny knew at Silas that wasn’t a part of the chaos of the anglerfish. Talking to Ell made Danny feel like herself, The self she was before everything that happened to her. Even if their relationship was anything but normal. 

“Look, we--we can make this work. I think we can. This,” Danny reached a hand out, scrunching her fingers, “means that I want to run my fingers through your hair. See? And if I move my hand down like this, I want to run my hand down your face. It’s the thought that counts, right? What matters is that I want to do it.”

 That was enough. If she cared about Ell it _had_ to be enough. For a tense moment they looked at each other. Then Ell leaned in.

“This means I want to kiss you.” Her smile was full of hope and desperation. 

“We’re okay, then?”

“For now. Yes.”

Danny smiled, relieved. “Let’s go home, then. We can  finish watching The March Family Letters. Little Women came out when you were fifteen, right? There’s a lot of changes, though, so be prepared…”

Danny kept babbling, trying to smother the awkwardness that the conversation brought.

Meanwhile, the gears were turning in Ell’s head.

* * *

 

Ell had heard a lot of stories from Danny about her friends. When Danny mentioned LaFontaine’s work on JP, the thought had never left her head. If they could put a flashdrive consciousness (Ell still couldn’t understand how computers worked) into a body...well, Ell was a soul. She was supposed to be in a body. How hard could it be for them to do that?

Floating into their room randomly would have been bad etiquette, so Ell caught up to them while they were eating lunch in the quad.

“LaFontaine?”

“Huh…? Oh. Ell. Looking for Danny?”

“No. I mean, it would be nice to be with Danny right now, but... I wanted to talk to you?”

LaFontaine looked at Ell quizzically. They hadn’t talked to Ell that much before--considering that they didn’t really like Danny that much, it hadn’t been important to Danny if LaFontaine liked her. But Ell needed their help.

“Sure? Well, depends what you need--”

“What if I said I wanted you to help me perform mad science?”

A grin spread slowly across LaFontaine’s face. “You heard I was the best person for the job, I take it?”

“Let’s just say...I am a fan of your work?”

“I’m listening.” 

* * *

 

Finding the body was simple enough. A lot of people, unfortunately, had died. LaFontaine needed to do a little cosmetic work on them since they were all murdered, which took a few days, but it was otherwise simple. Especially when the body was dead. Possessing was just a matter of inhabiting it. Ghosts did that often enough.

(LaFontaine had suggested Matska Belmonde, but Ell would rather not possess someone Danny had killed. Or someone that had helped toss Ell into the anglerfish)

Ell picked the body that looked most like her. Long, wavy blonde hair, and grayish blue eyes. A little shorter than Ell was, but that was okay. She couldn’t wait to see what Danny would think.

Why she was buried at some grove in the North Quad, Ell had no idea. Ell only hoped Danny would like it.

“You’re _sure_ Danny is going to like this?” LaFontaine had asked her.

“Of course. Danny will be thrilled.”

LaFontaine did not look convinced, but they muttered, “If you’re sure,” and let Ell go. Ell stumbled--it had been so long since she walked--heading toward the building where Danny taught her english class. The body felt odd. Very, very odd. It was like wearing clothing a little too tight for her so it chafed every time Ell moved. But to be able to touch Danny was worth it.

Students Ell recognized from Danny’s class started walking out, and Ell rubbed her palms in anticipation. As soon as Danny walked out--Laura was laughing about something with her--Ell called out:

“Danny!”

Danny’s eyes widened. She turned from Laura, her jaw dropping. She looked like she was looking at--actually, no. Not a ghost. Like she was seeing a demon.

“...Phoebe?”

“What? No.” Ell shook her head. “Danny, it’s me. Ell.”

Danny’s mouth closed. Her eyes were watering.

“LaFontaine helped me find a body. See?” Ell took a step toward her. “Now we don’t have to pretend anymore. What we have can be just as real as Carmilla and Laura.”

Ell reached a hand toward Danny. Danny took a sudden step back. Laura looked at her.

“Danny, are you--”

She turned suddenly, and started to run. Laura put a hand on her arm.

“Laura, what’s wrong? I thought...I thought this was what Danny wanted--”

“Ell, you can’t possess one of Danny’s dead friends?”

“What?”

“Holy Hufflepuff,” Laura looked in the direction of where Danny ran. “She didn’t tell you about them, did she?”

 _“Who?_ Did Danny know this body? I don’t know. She never said anything about it. She’s told me that she killed Mattie. But she did not kill this girl too, did she--”

“No.” Laura interrupted, stopping Ell’s nervous babbling. “Ell, you don’t understand.”

Laura bit her lip and starting telling Ell everything. Ell had almost forgotten what it was like to feel like she was going to throw up.

* * *

 

Phoebe was one of the first Summer Society Sisters Danny had met. She convinced Danny to pledge for the Society. She teased Danny in a good natured way constantly. She was about to graduate with a major in psychology and work as a criminal profiler. She had a ten year old little brother.

She had been the first to volunteer when Danny had begged the Summer Society for help.

A twenty-two year old woman had died, putting her trust in Danny. And to see her there--standing in front of her--and it turned out to be Ell. She didn’t even have the presence of mind to worry about how Ell was reacting to Danny’s refusal to be touched. Her choice was to run or end up curling up in a little ball on the ground sobbing.

She’d rather be doing it on her bed, alone, thank you.

It had started to rain, matching Danny’s mood. Danny heard a knock on the bedroom window. She looked at it. A branch or something? To her surprise, Danny saw a message being written with in the fogged up glass.

_Danny. It’s Ell._

Danny got up, breathing on the window and writing herself.

_Hey._

_I am so sorry. Laura told me. I put Phoebe’s body back. Can I come in?_

Danny paused for a moment.

_Sure_

Danny opened the window. Grabbed her cellphone from her pocket. “Drain my cellphone so I can see you.”

Her form appeared--very sketchily, since Danny’s phone didn’t have that much power left.

“Danny, I am so sorry. I wish I had more to say. But I was selfish, and I did not listen to LaFontaine who tried to warn me. I wanted to be able to touch you so badly...but why did you not tell me about them? You told me about everything else.”

Danny turned her head. “I didn’t want you to know that I was as much of a betrayer as Carmilla.”

Ell laughed. Honest to God laughed. “Danny, that is ridiculous. Laura told me what happened. What you did was not close.”

“I convinced them to fight with me. I told them I would be there to protect them. Because I wanted to save--”

“Laura? LaFontaine? Perry? Those very same girls? The way of life and safety of an entire campus of students?” Ell shook her head. “Danny, you did what was right. You always do what is right. It is one of the reasons that I could not help but fall in love with you so quickly. What is right is not always easy. Like Carmilla having left me alone rather than trying to keep me for herself. But that was not what you did.” Ell lifted her hands. “Now, if I could I would be giving you a hug. Forgive me?”

“...Of course. Just don’t possess a body that isn’t yours, again?”

“I promise.”

“Because I’d rather have _you._ Not you in the shell of someone else.”

Ell sighed. They sat together in silence for awhile. Good silence, companionable silence. Because that was all they could do besides talk. Danny knew if she had the choice she would kiss her, wrap her arms around Ell, something. It wasn’t fair to either of them.

 _What is right is not always what is easy_...like breaking up with a ghost who she could never truly connect with. But Danny took one look at Ell’s adoring gaze and pushed the thought from her mind.

* * *

 

They tried harder than ever to make it work after that. And sometimes it almost did.

Ell liked doing the traditional ghost messages. When it rained Danny would often wake up to Ell’s good morning messages scribbled on the window. On other days she would write on the wall in pencil if she had enough energy.

Danny would have to erase it later, but it was worth it.

Once after she’d told Ell she was having a shitty day right before going to class, she walked through the quad and saw something written on one of the buildings. It was written on the wall in marker.

_DANNY LAWRENCE DESERVES NICE THINGS._

“Really, Ell? Where are you?”

“...I got some energy from some passerby cellphones,” Ell said, grinning as she appeared in front of her, “Like it, Danny?”

 _“I swear,_ you better clean that before I get in trouble.” Danny answered, unable to hide her smile. Ell shrugged.

“Alright. But are you feeling better?”

“Yeah. A little.” Danny blew Ell a kiss before she walked away to go to her class.

LaFontaine was still on the case for finding Ell a body. Apparently they were pretty sympathetic to the whole ‘falling for someone without a body’ thing. That or it was a challenge to them. So far Danny and Ell had rejected a robot and a literal frankenstein body made from spare parts. Both times LaFontaine had exclaimed, “Back to the drawing board then! I’m on it!” Before going back to wherever they did their experiments.

Danny supposed she should like LaFontaine a little more now, but she made sure not to get her hopes up too much.

Occasionally Laura would help Ell set up a computer to skype Danny.

“I still don’t understand why you don’t just talk to Ell yourself, Danny,” Laura said.

Danny shrugged. “I don’t know. Thanks.”

“No problem. Ell has been helping me study for my history class when Carmilla’s out getting blood.”  

They set up the laptop in the hallway and just talked. And Laura was right--they could have talked face-to-face. But something about being behind a computer screen made their relationship almost seem normal. It was so much more frustrating to be next to each other yet so far.

“We should plan a date night tomorrow,” Ell said, “What will tomorrow be for us? Four months?”

“Yeah. Four.” Danny answered, “What do you want to do?”

“Movie?”

That was pretty much the only thing they could do besides talk. Danny didn’t really like eating around Ell--it involved a lot of wistful glances on Ell’s part that made Danny feel bad.

“Laura keeps telling me that Harry Potter is good?” Ell suggested.

“That’s _perfect._ You haven’t watched it yet? We’ll have a marathon. All eight movies.”

“She said there were only seven books though?”

“Oh, do not even get me _started_ on that.” Danny answered, and Ell laughed.

“I know better than to get you worked up, dear.”

Danny was about to answer when she yawned.

“You should go to bed--”

“No, I’m fine. A few more minutes?”

“Danny, you need to sleep,” Ell smiled, “I know I am so fascinating to talk to, but all these late night conversations are going to add up.”

“What else am I supposed to do when ninety-nine percent of the time all we can do is talk?”

It ended up more hurt than Danny had meant it to. Ell paused.

“Ell, I didn’t--”

“No, it’s fine. All eight Harry Potter movies this weekend, yes?”

She saw the look in Ell’s eyes even if she wasn’t that solid, pleading for Danny not to press the issue. “Yeah. You’re right about the sleep. I’ll see you in the morning on my way to class?”

“Of course. Love you.”

“Can’t wait.”

Danny signed off. She knew Ell wanted her to, but she couldn’t get any sleep that night.  

* * *

 

“Having another ‘date night’?” Mel asked.

“Hello, Miss Callis,” Ell answered, turning around to look at her. “We are watching Harry Potter.”

“I just wanted to remind you that some of us use batteries too. Do you mind leaving some for us in the morning?”

“I’ll pick up more and I won’t take the money from the Summer Society account,” Danny said, annoyed, “Happy?”

Mel looked at Ell.

“I will not use too many batteries?” Ell offered. Mel seemed satisfied (or at least as satisfied as Mel could look with her perpetual glare).

“I’ll leave you both to it. Still expecting you to be ready for morning workouts, Danny.”

“Is she always so abrasive?” Ell asked, looking at her girlfriend.

“You should have seen her when Vordenberg was in charge. This is nothing.”

They looked back to the movie. Harry was just getting sorted into Gryffindor.

“What house do you think I would be in?” Ell asked.

“You? I don’t know. Ravenclaw? What about--”

“You are Gryffindor. Most definitely.”

“I was going to ask about Elsie, but thanks.” Danny said with a laugh. Ell rolled her eyes. She was about to say something else when a flash of thunder made her freeze.

“What was that?”

“That? Must be a thunderstorm and--yeah,” the lights flickered and turned off. “Power outage. Sorry, Ells, but we can--”

Danny stopped when she saw that Ell was shaking.

“I do not enjoy thunderstorms,” Ell said in response to Danny’s worried look, “Bright lights, loud noises...they remind me of when...well, you know. How I died. Screaming and the anglerfish and whatnot.”

“Oh, Ell.” Danny reached out to lay a hand on her back, momentarily forgetting that it passed right through. “I really, _really_ wish I could give you a hug right now.”

“Thank you,” Ell answered, before being interrupted by another clap. She flinched.

Watching Ell this distraught was almost painful. But Danny didn’t have nearly enough batteries to make Ell solid enough to touch her--she could use her laptop, but that wouldn’t last more more than a minute at most. She remembered something LaFontaine had told her.

_A lot of ghosts manifest with life force. It’s about ten times as strong as electricity. If you don’t mind the possibility of accidentally killing someone if you take too much…_

“Ell,” Danny said, “Use some of mine.”

“Your…?” It took Ell a moment to understand. When she did she shook her head.

“No, no, no. Never. It’s too dangerous, Danny.”

“Ell, please. I want to be able to hug my girlfriend when she’s afraid of storms, okay? Do it for me.”

“I can handle a little thunder if the alternative is hurting you.”

“We’ll be careful. I’ll stop you if I feel like you’re draining too much.”

“But--”

“Ell, I love you. Please let me do this for you?”

Ell stared at Danny in shock. “You...let’s do this.”

Danny took a deep breath. She closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure what she expected--they had just watched Harry Potter, so she would be lying if she said the Dementor’s Kiss didn’t come to mind.

Instead it was the feeling of something warm. Like something about the size of her hand radiating heat, starting right around her collarbones.

Danny opened her eyes, and there was a hand. Ell’s hand. With weight against her body. Pressure. Even more than that first time so many months ago. Her skin was still slightly translucent, but it _worked._ Ell could touch Danny.

“Did...am I really…? Wow.” Ell breathed, “This feels so. So. I don’t even know how to explain it.”

Danny cupped Ell’s cheek, leaning in quickly. There was no time for talking now.

“I love you,” Danny repeated. The kiss took Ell by surprise and she stayed still for a moment, then closed her eyes and leaned in, “Is this helping with the storm?”

“Storm? What storm?” Ell asked, smiling into their kiss. Danny took her other hand, curling it into Ell’s hair, relishing in its thickness. It was better than Danny had imagined it. Ten times better.

She didn’t understand how this was draining her life force, because Danny had

never felt more alive and whole than she did right now.

Danny pulled back, eliciting a small huff of disappointment. “Hey, just because I love you doesn’t mean I suddenly don’t need to breathe, Ells.”     

There was another flash of lightning, and Ell snuggled deeper into Danny’s chest.

“Thank you,” she whispered. Danny kissed the top of her head.

“Of course, Ell. I love you.”

A large grin spread across Ell’s face.

“What?”

“You _love_ me,” Ell said, “You really love me. I knew it.”

“Don’t get a swelled head, Ell.”

“You know it’s true.”

“You’re right, it is.”

For another minute Ell and Danny said nothing. Ell spoke first.

“...Danny, what are we going to do? After this? We can’t do this again, it’s too dangerous--”

“We’ll figure it out later,” Danny mumbled into the crook of Ell’s neck. Ell relaxed. She had never felt this comfortable in someone’s arms before; she rather liked it.

Ell didn’t realize that she’d drifted off to sleep until she woke up at the sudden return of the lights.

“Oh. The rain stopped.” Ell turned, looking at Danny’s sleeping face. “Danny, the movie is back on. Don’t you want to see the quidditch match? You said that was your favorite part.”

Ell nudged her with her shoulder. “Danny…?”

Except Ell realized that Danny was cold. Too cold. She pushed herself off the couch suddenly, aware of how warm she felt, Danny’s life coursing through her body.

“Danny!” She placed her hands on Danny’s chest. “Take it back, Danny, _please._ Take it back!”

But Ell didn’t know how to give, only to take. Tears dripped down her face, tears that without Danny’s life she wouldn’t be able to feel, even momentarily. It only made her cry harder.

“Seriously, Danny, did you stay down there _all night?”_ Mel shouted from at the top of the stairs.

Ell tried to go through the wall; she was still solid though. Instead she just banged against it before opening the window and clambering out. She couldn’t bear to face what she had done.

Words that she had thrown in Carmilla’s face so long ago came back to haunt her.

Monster. Ell was a monster and she killed Danny who loved her and only wanted to hold her. She stumbled, unshaky, before finding her way into the woods surrounding the school.

She could feel herself starting to fade. Even life force could only last so long--and Ell didn’t even know how long Danny had been gone (she couldn’t bear to think ‘dead’). Ell leaned against the bark of a tree, feeling it dig into her back. It was uncomfortable.

Ell didn’t care. She deserved the pain. 

* * *

 

Ell didn’t know how long she laid in the woods before the last of Danny’s life dissipated from her body, leaving her invisible again. Time meant nothing to a ghost. She had only thought about it before because she needed to know when she could see Danny…

But Ell needed to face what she did. It was the least she could do.

She heard the gathering before she saw it, finding the Summer Society gathered in the north quad. Laura and Carmilla were sitting at the back of the crowd with Kirsch. Kirsch and Laura were both crying.

“...I do not pretend that Danny Lawrence and I agreed on a lot of things, or even anything,” Mel said, standing at the front, “But regardless, she represents everything a Summer Society Sister should be: loyal, brave, unwavering. All her decisions were made with the good of Silas--and her sisters--in mind. So, Danny, it is for you we lay down our bows and mourn. May She Who Walks with all Wild Things guide you safely to the eternal forests.”

The way Mel said it, so monotone, like she only did it because she had to...it made Ell almost as angry as what she had done did. She hovered for awhile in the grove as everyone paid their respects. Laura, Kirsch, and Carmilla were the last ones left.

“I don’t understand,” Laura said, sniffling, “It doesn’t make sense. Who could have wanted to do this?”

“Pretty obvious who the prime suspect is, Laura,” Carmilla answered, staring down at Danny’s marker with an indiscernible look, “Hate to say--”

“No,” Laura shook her head, “Ell loved Danny. She would have never done this.”

Ell felt like she was still trapped in Lophiiformes; being ripped apart bit by bit.

“Then where did Ell go?” Carmilla said.

“I don’t know. I’m worried about her, too.”

“How do you hurt a ghost?”

“Maybe it was a Ghostbuster?” Kirsch offered, wiping his face on his sleeve. Laura and Carmilla chose to ignore him.

“Come on, guys,” Laura said after a few moments, “We’re not going to solve Danny’s murder by standing here forever. Maybe if we checked the house again...?”

“I highly doubt they’ll be anything there we haven’t found the last three times,” Carmilla muttered, but sighed and followed Kirsch and Laura out.

Ell was left alone. With Danny’s grave marker, surrounded by the markers of her dead friends.

At least Danny was able to see them again. Ell was sure they missed her.

“Danny,” Ell said; she hovered, sitting cross-legged. “I...I am so sorry. So, so sorry. I didn’t...I never meant for this. And I feel so horrible and selfish, and--”

Ell stopped, choking back a sob. Her wound, still fresh, felt as though it was being dipped in salt water. There was a funeral. Danny was really gone. And now Ell saw the true extent of what she had done.

No more late night skype conversations. No more writing ‘good morning’ for her on the bathroom mirror. No more seeing Danny stuff her pockets full of batteries so she could see Ell walking with her to class. No more teasing Carmilla to make her smile.

And all of the other people who were hurt--Laura, Kirsch, all of the Summer Society sisters. Danny had done nothing but protect them, and for what? To die because Ell wanted to cuddle with her during a thunderstorm?

“God, I can’t do this,” Ell said, choking back a sob, “The worst thing is that I know what you would say to me if you could--that it was an accident, that you fell asleep too, that you begged me to let you do it, that it was not my fault. And that only makes it worse. You loved me so much and I should have known better--”

“It’s _true,_ though.”

Ell froze. “...I am terrified to turn around.”

“Ell, you’re dead, what’s the worst that could happen?” The voice said playfully. Ell turned.

How could she look so calm? So peaceful? How could she be standing in front of Ell, hands in the pockets of her letterman jacket, like nothing was wrong?

“I’ve been looking for you,” Danny said, “I couldn’t find you anywhere. You know how worried I was? Figured if you’d be anywhere, though, it’d be here.”

She frowned, looking at a place above Ell’s head. “Did you see Mel, though? Talk about doing the bare minimum. I can see why she’s not a theatre major.”

“Danny, how are you _here?”_ Ell covered her mouth with her hands.

“I don’t know.” Danny said, running a hand through her hair. “I mean...it wasn’t something where I thought ‘I’m going to stay a ghost’. At first everything was just black. And then I thought, ‘there is so much I haven’t done’. To leave all of the Summers, Laura...you. And then I was looking at myself on the couch.”

Ell didn’t realize Danny was walking toward her until she reached out a hand, grabbing Ell’s arm. Ell removed her hand from her face; Danny ran her hand down the arm until Danny held her hand.

“Knowing you would blame yourself? Leaving you right after I said I loved you? Talk about unfinished business. How could I _not_ come back?”

Ell stared at the hand in awe. No batteries, no danger, no ‘only for a moment’. Just Danny holding her girlfriend’s hand. She grabbed Danny’s shoulder and pulled her in.

“I missed you so much.”

“I thought you might have left Silas. That I wouldn’t see you again--”

“No,” Ell shook her head, “I’ve missed you since I met you. I’ve missed being able to hug, and hold hands...everything. I know it doesn’t make sense, because I couldn’t miss something I hadn’t done yet, but I did.”

Danny sighed. “It doesn’t make sense. But I understand it perfectly.”

She grabbed Ell by the waist, pulling her closer. “Danny...not that I’m not excited to see what we do now...but what _do_ we do now?”

“What now?” Danny frowned, creases forming in her forehead. “I’ve been trying not to think about that.”

“I can introduce you to some of the other ghosts.”

“Maybe...I’d like to let the Summers know about me, though. And definitely Laura.”

Ell winced. “I am...very afraid of what they’ll say to me when I tell them what happened.”

“If I don’t blame you, how mad can they be?”

Ell knew it wasn’t that simple. Emotions were the least rational thing humans had. But Danny was right. Seeing her still uncomfortable, Danny gave Ell another kiss.

“Hey,” Danny said, “I’ll be right there with you. Okay? We’re together. And hey--I can finally curl my fingers in your hair whenever I want. You’ll still have that.”

Together. Ell smiled. This was the first time where she really felt like they were a team.

“Together,” Ell agreed. She added jokingly, “Until life do us part?”

Danny looked forward, toward the quad and the Summer Society House. With Ell’s hand in hers--and the rest of eternity to regret or appreciate what she had become--they both left to find Laura.


	2. Alternate Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picking up where Danny died in the last chapter.

Ell didn’t realize that she’d drifted off to sleep until she woke up at the sudden return of the lights.

“Oh. The rain stopped.” Ell turned, looking at Danny’s sleeping face. “Danny, the movie is back on. Don’t you want to see the quidditch match? You said that was your favorite part.”

Ell nudged her with her shoulder. “Danny…?”

Except Ell realized that Danny was cold. Too cold. She pushed herself off the couch suddenly, aware of how warm she felt, Danny’s life coursing through her body.

“Danny!” She placed her hands on Danny’s chest. “Take it back, Danny, please. Take it back!”

She shoved her again, harder this time. Danny coughed. Once, twice. Then she sat up, retching, still holding a small ember of life inside of her. 

“ _Wow,_ what happened?” Danny looked at Ell; she had gotten up from the couch, standing in the middle of the room, staring at Danny. “Ell, what’s wrong?” 

“I–I almost–you felt so _cold,_ Danny, I thought you might not wake up, and it would have been because of me–” 

Danny sat up, wincing a little. Almost dying would do that to you. “Ell, it’s okay. We both fell asleep. It was an accident and I’m okay, alright?” She reached out for her; Ell stepped back. 

“ _No._ I don’t want to hurt you again.” 

“Okay,” Danny said gently, “If you don’t want to do this again, we don’t have to–” 

“Danny, there is no _we._ This is not natural, this is _wrong,_ I can’t.” 

“Ell,” Danny said, her voice almost cracking, “We’ve been doing okay so far–” 

“Danny. Listen to me. I _can’t do this anymore.”_

Ell and Danny stared at each other for a long moment. Danny, searching for any hint of doubt in Ell’s decision. Ell, eyes brimming with tears but unwavering. 

“…Ell, I love you. If you want to leave, you can.” 

Ell wanted nothing more than to get one more kiss, hug, some sort of touch. But like everything else in death, everything was just so, _so_ unfair.

“Goodbye, Danny,” Ell whispered. 

She walked past Danny, not even affording herself the comfort of brushing her shoulders. Ell opened the door, then closed it, trying not to look back. She was a ghost, she could sense auras and emotions. Danny was crying–beautiful, perfect, strong Danny. Crying. Somehow that seemed almost as bad as causing her near death. 

As soon as the door closed, Ell began to run. 

* * *

Ell walked until Danny’s life force worked its way through her body. She passed by several other ghosts that she was familiar with, all asking the same things–where had she been lately? Why had they barely seen her? 

She answered the same thing to all of them, blinking back tears. “I don’t know, but I am sure you’ll see more of me, now.” 

Ell didn’t know where she was going until she saw LaFontaine outside the science building. They looked like they were waiting for someone. Ell debated whether or not she should tell them what happened–all this extra research was rather useless now, wasn’t it? 

“Hey, JP! Did you get the results from those samples?” They asked to the rather dapper looking man that walked out, holding a folded piece of paper. Ell had very mixed feelings about JP. On one hand, his personality was lovely. On the other, he looked _exactly_ like one of the vampires that threw her into the anglerfish. So Ell almost walked away–the last thing she needed was to be brought back to that experience–until she heard LaFontaine shout:

“EUREKA!” They waved the paper in the air. “I DID IT! I knew it! SCIENCE IS UNSTOPPABLE!” 

What the…? 

“I’m calling Danny right now,” LaFontaine said, taking out their phone and tapping furiously at the buttons, “She can tell Ell. Oh _man,_ I can’t wait to hear them when I–” 

The phone died suddenly, and LaFontaine gave a little gasp. “What the _Hell–”  
_

Ell appeared in front of them. “LaFontaine!” 

“Miss Ell! Hello,” JP said, “LaFontaine was just about to contact both you and Miss Lawrence with news about–” 

“I know. I heard them. LaFontaine,” Ell pressed her hands together like she was praying, then pressed them over her mouth. She had heard many ‘eurekas’ from LaFontaine. But this one _had_ to work. “I am not in the presence of mind to be polite. Tell me.” 

“Don’t you want to tell–” 

“No. Not Danny. Not yet.” 

Not if this was another false hope. 

LaFontaine looked at her confused, before smiling again. “Whatever–as long as I get to tell _one_ of you. So, I think I got a plan that’ll work. But there’s a catch.”

“What catch?” 

“…How do you feel about spelunking?” 

* * *

So, according to samples LaFontaine had taken from Lophiiformes, her blood, tissue, and fat had many properties. One of which being preservation. Tissue (Ell wasn’t going to question where LaFontaine _got_ human tissue) could be kept perfectly preserved in a mixture of it for, by LaFontaine and JP’s estimations, centuries. 

Which meant– _theoretically–_ that any bodies in the anglerfish would still be fresh enough to possess. Including Ell’s. 

But that also meant Ell needed to follow LaFontaine into the dead body of the anglerfish. To confront her deepest, most horrifying memories of torture. Something Ell couldn’t even imagine doing. 

To finally be able to be with Danny. 

In the end, it was a simple choice. 

LaFontaine covered themselves in protective gear, wearing a mask over their face. Months of a dead fish God rotting in that pit meant that it smelled, well, disgusting. 

“This might actually be a good thing, though,” LaFontaine said, “Your body will be covered in plenty of nice, rotting Lophii drippings."

Great. 

The fish’s mouth was open. LaFontaine rubbed their hands together. 

“You can float through things, so it’ll be a lot faster for you to look,” LaFontaine explained, “I’ll pull out some of the other bodies too, if I find them. Maybe some of Carmilla’s other victims will want a second chance, you know?” 

Ell could barely hear them as she walked into the anglerfish with them. Her head was pounding, ears ringing. She could feels its breathing, smell the stench of its breath. 

She closed her eyes. Danny…Danny…this was for Danny. Lophii was dead. Ell was dead. She needed to do this. 

Through muscles and fat, dripping down from its cavernous chest, LaFontaine and Ell made their way into the depths of the monster. LaFontaine stopped when they felt their boot hit something solid. 

“Hey…? We got a body!” LaFontaine exclaimed. They used the shovel they brought with them, shoveling goop off. “Is this you, Ell? It’s hard to make out your features exactly.” 

Ell looked down at the face, then shook her head. “No. Her name was Abigail. I’ve talked to her a few times.” 

LaFontaine took out a pad of sticky notes, writing down ‘Abigail’ and slapping it on the body’s forehead. “So the ghosts can find their bodies faster,” LaFontaine said, “JP is going to go round them up.” 

Ell nodded. “Okay.” 

They both kept moving. Ell found a girl with dark skin. Another who was blonde but had green eyes. Another with blue eyes, but her hair was brown and short.   
Another whose clothes were far too modern–

“Ell! I think I found it–well–you! Blonde with blue eyes?” 

She floated to the body, LaFontaine having shoveled goo off the face and neck. Ell suppressed a shiver. 

“That’s…LaFontaine, that’s _me.”_

She looked almost peaceful. Like she was sleeping. Ell stared at herself, wanting to weep. 

Months of longing. A century of torture. And now her body was back. 

“I don’t know how possession works,” LaFontaine said, “Take it from here?”

Ell bent. She focused on the empty shell. Willing herself to slither herself into it. 

Like liquid she seeped into the body, filling it. Phoebe had felt like a too tight skin, but her own fit snugly. Comfortably. 

Ell’s body opened its eyes. _Ell_ opened her eyes. 

“…Holy shit, it worked,” LaFontaine breathed, “Ell, how’s it feel? Huh?” 

Ell took a long moment before her face contorted in horror. 

“Ell? What’s wrong?” 

“Oh my God, I’m covered in _fish guts!_ Get it off!” Ell got up, wiping the viscous sludge off her clothes. “Off, off, off–I can feel it! I can feel it!” Ell started laughing, “And it’s _disgusting!_ Oh, sweet God, I can’t believe this has worked!” 

LaFontaine smiled. “You’re welcome, Ell. Listen…I mean, you’re still a ghost, and this is a possession. You won’t age. You know that, right–” 

Ell slammed into the scientist, not even caring about how she was still covered. “Thank you,” she said, “Thank you, thank you, _thank you._ I owe you my death. Every moment I will spend trying to repay you this enormous, infinite debt.” 

LaFontaine patted Ell on the back. “Want to repay me? Go get your girl like we’re in some crappy Lifetime rom-com. After we clean you up.” 

Ell pulled away, grinning. “I shall.” 

* * *

Danny couldn’t stop holding onto the batteries. 

She thought she emptied her pocket of all of them. But then she put on her pants, and there it was. One triple-A. She couldn’t bear to throw it away. 

It messed her up in class. Danny kept staring at it, thinking that at any moment Ell would pop up. Even the blurriest outline from that one battery. One day since she and Ell broke up–Danny still couldn’t believe she was gone. 

She hadn’t realized until being without her how much her presence–just her being there–had made everything she’d been through almost seem worth it. At least like it had a purpose. Without Ell? Danny felt like her purpose was gone. 

Oh, she’d be okay. Danny was always okay. Eventually. But that didn’t mean it didn’t suck.

She was so busy staring at the battery as she walked out of her classroom, rolling it between her fingers, that she bumped into someone. 

“Hey, sorry–” Danny stopped. Took a step back. 

The girl tilted her head to the side. “…Hey?” 

Danny frowned, shaking her head. This girl–she couldn’t be. “I’m sorry. You seemed really familiar.” 

She pointed at Danny’s hand. “You should have brought more.” 

“I’m sorry, what?” 

“Batteries. Did you throw them all out after I left, Danny?” 

Her heart felt like it stopped. “ _Ell?”  
_

Ell nodded. She was about to say something else when Danny ran forward, wrapping her arms around her, pulling her close. 

“LaFontaine–” 

“Ell, tell me later,” Danny murmured into Ell’s hair, “Just let me enjoy the moment, okay?” 

Ell. Beautiful, perfect Ell, solid and alive in front of her. She didn’t even notice that there was no heartbeat in her chest, no breathing against her skin. That was the least of Danny’s problems. She lifted Ell’s chin and kissed her, pressing their foreheads together. 

Did she have freckles as a ghost? Because it was adorable. 

“Danny,” Ell said softly, “I can’t…I won’t age. LaFontaine helped me find my body, but I’m not _alive._ But this is the best I can do…this is enough, right? Can it be?”

Danny laughed softly, running a hand in Ell’s hair. “You were enough before,” Danny said, “You’re _more_ than enough now. We’ll make it work.”

“I love you,” Ell stated. 

“I love you, too. And we,” Danny said, holding up the battery and tossing it away, “can say goodbye to these forever, thank God.” 

Ell looked at where she had thrown the battery, then walked past Danny to grab it. 

“Keep, it,” Ell said, opening Danny’s hand and placing the battery in her palm, “To remind both of us. Of how far we’ve come.” She closed Danny’s hand, kissing her, savoring the fact that neither of them had to worry anymore. 

Danny gave a little half smile and slipped the battery into her pocket.


End file.
